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U6 Curriculum

Week 6 · U6

Passing and link-up play

LINK-UP · January
0:00Arrival free play0:10PLAY 10:25PRACTICE0:45PLAY 21:05Scrimmage & game-day chat75-minute session

Objectives — what the players will do

  1. 1Pass with the side of the foot, like a gentle push
  2. 2Look at a friend before passing to them
  3. 3Call a name, then pass — every pass has an address

Play 1 — starts when the second player arrives

Find a Friend

Everyone dribbles their own ball anywhere. When the coach shouts "PING!", pass to the nearest friend, then find a loose ball and keep dribbling. Great arrival game — kids join in the moment they walk up.

Practice — the one taught activity of the night

Passing Gates

Pairs, one ball, cone gates about two big steps wide scattered everywhere. Score a point for every pass through a gate to your partner, then run together to a NEW gate. How many gates can you score in one minute? Play three rounds and try to beat your own score.

Level down — if it breaks down

Wider gates, partners closer together, and let them stop the ball before passing back.

Level up — if it looks too easy

Points only count with the other foot, or play Monkey in the Middle: three friends passing, one gentle monkey trying to touch the ball.

Play 2 — always finish playing the real game

4v4 — Helper Goals

Normal games, but a goal that comes after a pass counts DOUBLE. Shout out the passer as loudly as the scorer: "What a pass, Mia!"

Key coaching points — in your own words

  • ·Pass with the side of your foot — a gentle push, not a big boot.
  • ·Look at your friend first. Then pass.
  • ·Say their name! "Sam, here it comes!"
  • ·A pass is a present to a friend — wrap it nicely.
Progress the session

Shrink the space and add a wandering coach-monkey who tries to pinch loose passes.

Regress the session

Freeze the game: passer and receiver stand still until the pass is away.

Game-day focus — watch for this on Saturday

Count passes out loud from the sideline and cheer each one. Diamond: wide players spread big to give the passer someone to find. Everyone defends, everyone attacks, rotate spots.

Message to forward to your parents

Passing week! Your child learned that a pass is a present to a friend. Ten gentle passes back and forth in the yard is the perfect homework — and it is fun.

This week's two videos

Prep the night before; copy the activity on the field.

Prepyougotmojo16:28

10 Best Soccer Passing Drills for U8, U10 and U12 | Fun Soccer Drills by MOJO

Watch the night before to understand the idea

Your drill bank for the whole month — watch before Week 1 and pull the simplest passing games (Gates Passing, Numbers Passing) as your Practice-phase activities. Everything here fits the fun-and-maximum-touches mandate for this band. Reframe each game with LINK-UP language: pass, then move to help your friend.

Watch on YouTube
ActivityAthlete Era2:53

Simple Passing Drills — U4–U9

A drill you can copy on the field

Quick crash-course of passing games for the youngest players — the first 'pass to a supporting angle' habits for Weeks 3–4.

Watch on YouTube